Manuscripts by Subject - Family / Local History - #10860

Title: William L. Leingang Film

Dates: 1960-2000

Collection Number: 10860

Quantity: 4 feet

Abstract: Contains film footage of shot by William L. Leingang and William L. Leingang Jr. 16 mm film features footage of 1969 flood from across eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. VHS tapes contain footage such as Gordon Kahl, Badlands, oil fields, aerial footage of 1997 flood, and 7th Calvary stock footage. Slides are of the Meyer Television newscast team including Roger Higgins, Al Gustin, Bob McLeod, Jess Cooper, and Jim Bucklin.

Provenance: William Leingang, Jr. donated his film collection to the State Historical Society of North Dakota in February 2001.

Property Rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to this collection.

Copyrights: Copyrights to this collection remain with the donor, publisher, author, or author's heirs. Researchers should consult the 1976 Copyright Act, Public Law 94-553, Title 17, U.S. Code or an archivist at this repository if clarification of copyright requirements is needed.

Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.

William “Bill” Leingang, 83, Bismarck, died September 1, 2010 at St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck.

William Michael “Bill” Leingang was born February 19, 1927, on a farm in Sioux County near Solen, to Ralph and Christine (Beckler) Leingang.

When the drought and dry years came, they moved to Linton. In 1940, his father passed away and the family moved to Mandan where Bill attended St. Joseph’s grade and Mandan High Schools. In his sophomore year, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force on June 18, 1945, to serve in World War II until December 17, 1946, when he returned to complete high school, graduating in 1949. His lifelong love of photography and cinematography began in high school as school photographer and he also worked for Mohr Photo Studio and the Mandan and Palace Theatres. In the following years, Bill worked with the Army Corps of Engineers, the ND Highway Department, Northwest Mapping, and the Northern Pacific Railroad until September of 1952.

Bill married Donna Boehm at St. Joseph’s Church in Mandan on September 20, 1952. On their honeymoon, they moved to the West Coast and both worked for the International Harvester Co. After about seven months, they decided to return to the North Dakota they loved and missed and Bill returned to Northwest Mapping. When KFYR-TV came on the air in 1953 he again was able to use his film and photo experience producing movies, commercials, and news pictures and film for the station for over 20 years. He filmed and photographed Presidents from Kennedy to Reagan. During the late 60s and into the late 70s, Bill and Donna co-owned and operated Bill’s Magnavox Home Entertainment Center with Bob Wiest and they later added Guitarland music store with Sam Wangler and Bob Wiest, his business partners. In the 1980s, he and Donna co-managed the Wheel-a-While Roller Skating Rink for 13 years. When the rink closed, he again called upon his photo experience and became the microfilm curator for the North Dakota State Heritage Society, where, among other recordings and restorations he converted and recorded the same films he had produced with KFYR years earlier. Due to illness, Bill retired in 2002, and was memory impaired for all of his retirement years. Bill was a great, blessed, honest, and sweet spirited husband and father to seven children, grandfather to 22 and great-grandfather to seven, with another new one due any day now. He had a deep and vibrant faith and friendship with God and his Catholic faith. Family and faith were most important.

Bill loved photography, his blue “Beemer” BMW motorcycle, and roller-skating. He often skated as far as six miles a day until his memory loss sidelined him. He had a lifetime love of books and reading and amassed a huge collection of music and a love for which he imparted to his children. He was a maestro on the harmonica. Bill was a skilled artist and drew fabulously funny pictures of and for his grandchildren. A favorite art tradition was his annual Christmas mural on the living room picture window. While he never attended college, he was self-taught in subjects as diverse as theology, physics, geometry, electronics, and optics. He loved to read about politics and political economy.